Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Home This Spring

When you’re trying to buy a home, you want to do everything right. But in order to do that, you need to know what doing it wrong looks like, or, in other words, what mistakes to avoid at all costs.

So what, exactly, are those mistakes?

A recent article from realtor.com outlined the mistakes you’ll want to avoid if you’re planning to buy a home this spring, including:

• Not understanding what the seller wants. Sometimes, a seller will choose to accept the highest offer, but not always. Certain sellers have other priorities, like a flexible closing date for example. So before you make an offer, it’s important to have your agent ask the seller’s agent for their ideal terms; that way, you can tailor your offer accordingly, and increase the likelihood that your offer will be accepted.
• Not asking the right questions. Before you place an offer, you need to gather all the information you need to make an informed decision about a home, such as the age of the roof, and the condition of the heating and cooling system. But sometimes, people get so caught up in the aesthetics of the home, they forget to ask those questions, and regret it later. Before you start looking at homes, make a checklist of questions to ask about the condition of the home, and then ask those questions for every single house you’re interested in.
• Waiving inspections. Some buyers waive their right to an inspection in order to make their offer more appealing to sellers. But without an inspection, you have no way of knowing the true condition of the home, and you might find yourself buying something that has tens of thousands (or even hundreds of thousands) of dollars worth of work that needs to be done in order to make it livable. It may be tempting, but fight the urge to waive your inspection contingency.